New Directions in the Study of Populism

Anthropology, Political Science, Social History / Studies, Social Sciences, Sociology

General:

We invite proposals for a paper to be presented at a workshop on “New Directions in the Study of Populism.” The conference will take place March 15 thru March 17, 2018, at the West and Thunderbird campuses of Arizona State University (from Thursday early evening to Saturday early afternoon).

There is now a renewed academic interest in the study of populism, and a surge of empirical explorations and normative evaluations of populism. The purpose of this conference is to explore the "scope and methods" of populism studies as an interdisciplinary area of studies, and identify shared assumptions as well as normative, theoretical, methodological, and political areas or agreement and disagreement.

We plan to assemble a small group of 20 scholars who are doing cutting-edge work on populism. We are interested in putting together a mix of more experienced scholars and young scholars, and would like to bring people from different disciplines, different theoretical orientations, and who apply different methodological toolkits.

We have two keynote addresses as part of the conference. On Thursday night, Thomas Frank will give an opening lecture to a broader audience than the conference participants. On Friday night, Theda Skocpol will give a keynote presentation to a smaller group of mainly the conference attendees. Other confirmed participants include Paris Aslanidis (Yale), Jack Bratich (Rutgers), Benjamin McKean (OSU), David Meyer (UC Irvine), and Benjamin Moffitt (Stockholm University).

Participants are expected to contribute a chapter, based on their workshop presentation, to an edited volume. By accepting this invitation you are agreeing to submit a chapter. We intend that the edited volume would serve as the entry point for scholars and graduate students who are interested in doing research on populism.

Hotel Information:

Hotel rooms are available at a conference rate of $85 (+tax) in the Thunderbird Executive Inn, which is located at the Conference site. There is no registration fee and we will provide meals for registered participants during the conference. It is worth mentioning that Arizona weather is usually particularly nice around March and participants may choose to extend their stay to enjoy the sun (or attend the baseball spring training).

Submission Instructions:

If you are interested in participating in the conference (and are willing to contribute a chapter), please submit a detailed proposal describing the paper you intend to write and present at the conference, situating it in the context of your broader work, and a CV, to one of the organizers (see contact information below). The deadline for submitting a proposal is: July 1, 2017. Acceptance notification expected by August 1st.